Isaiah 13:22 - Exposition

Wild beasts of the islands . In the Hebrew, iyyim , which means "wailers" or "howlers," probably "jackals." The Revised Version gives "wolves." In their desolate houses ; or, in their castles (Cheyne). And dragons ; i.e. "serpents." These have not been observed recently; but one of our old travelers notes that "the lande of Baby-lone," in his day, "was fulle of dragons and grote serpentes, and dyverse other veney-mouse ecstes alle abouten". Near to come . About one hundred and eighty years elapsed between the utterance of this prophecy and the fall of Babylon—a short period in the lifetime of a nation.